Regulations must be revised to manage Grab, Uber: Minister

SGGPFriday, March 09, 2018 10:42

At the meeting discussing a draft decree to replace Decree 86 stipulating auto transport trading and conditions yesterday, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said that regulations given by the decree drafting board showed many loopholes and did not meet social requirements to manage Grab and Uber.

An Uber cab in HCMC (Photo: SGGP)

At the meeting, representatives of Transport Department under the Ministry of Transport said that relevant sides have had many meetings on Grab and Uber management without finding any optimal solution.

There have been some opinions saying that Uber and Grab should be managed like vehicles operating according to contracts or contract vehicles while many others said that they should be managed like taxi operators.

Minister Nguyen Van The said that Grab and Uber are taxi service so they must be tightly managed like taxi operators in both vehicle number and drivers.

When incidents occur to passengers, traditional taxi drivers and firms will have to take responsibility for that while no one is responsible for it to Uber and Grab.

Minister The required the decree drafting board to solve the issue of Uber and Grab responsibility in driver management to prevent them from ignoring their responsibility. The ride sharing companies must sign labor contracts with drivers and take responsibility in case of forgetting personal belongings or robbery.

He suggested amending the decree towards managing owners of contract vehicles. Business owners must be responsible for vehicle quality and drivers in all conditions to ensure safety for residents.

Mr. Khuat Viet Hung, deputy chairman of National Traffic Safety Committee, said that authorized agencies have not been able to completely tackle illegal operations of coaches and stations.

The issue has not only caused tax loss but also unfair competitiveness and unsafe traffic condition. For instance, a serious accident has recently been caused by an illegal coach in Lo Xo mountain pass.

Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, deputy head of the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam, admitted that for the last ten years, authorized agencies have yet to give a solution to settle illegal coaches and stations. Regulations on contract vehicles are not tight and unclear.